A colleague in the research department, Koffe Mensah, CFA, approaches Ravinder seeking advice about a research report he is writing on a listed company. The majority of Staple’s clients hold this company’s shares in their portfolios. Mensah explains that his supervisor is pressuring him to make a buy recommendation to substantiate some positive rumors that the lead dealer heard about the company. Mensah states that his thorough research leads him to believe the company is overvalued. Ravinder reminds Mensah that if the share price moves up, Mensah will likely receive a higher bonus.
Q. If Mensah gives in to his supervisor’s pressure, what CFA Standard will he most likely violate?
- Material Nonpublic Information
- Conflicts of Interests
- Diligence and Reasonable Basis
Solution
C is correct. Mensah would violate Standard V(A)–Diligence and Reasonable Basis because his research indicated that the company was overvalued. Mensah would not have violated Standard II(A)–Material Nonpublic Information because causing someone to trade on rumors does not necessarily involve trading on material nonpublic information. In addition, Mensah would not have violated Standard VI(A)–Disclosure of Conflicts because the bonus structure is not short-term focused and considers long-term value creation through correct investment recommendations. As a result, disclosure of this bonus structure is not required.
此题为什么不是利益冲突呢，首先他的主要客户持有这个公司股票，他受supervisor影响要出具一份正面报告，其次股价上升，他可能受到更高bonus，这两者都存在利益冲突啊，而diligence实际他已经做了，只不过结果是negative，他如果发布正面报告并不是因为他没有diligence
